Container



C. LENFANT Nov. I2, 1929.

CONTAINER Filed May 16, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l C. L ENFANT Nov. l2, 1929.

CONTAINER Filed May 16. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R .vn mf m wn u mf@ f ,m nl i/yf w :l f/M A Patented Nov. 12, 1929 PATENT OFFICE CHARLES LENFANT, F NEW YORK, N. Y.

CONTAINER Application filed May 16,

Thisinvention relates to improvements in containers and more particularly to containers for holding vcigarettes and similar articles of a fragile nature.

It is a matter of common knowledge that cigarettes, unless carefully packe-d and sustained in their packages, become broken and suii'er loss of their fillers from their wrappers. Also that the common type of commercial packages are inconvenient in that the contents, by reason of being more or less tightly packed present diiiiculties in removal.

The primary object of the invention is to preserve its contents intact and against breakage. t

Another object of the invention is to facilitate the removal of cigarettes from the case or package so that one may be withdrawn without requiring the fingering or disturbing of those remaining.

Another object of the invention is to lock the package closed and against accidental opening, yet enable the same to be easily opened when the extraction of one or more cigarettes is desired.

A feature of the present invention is the separation of the case parts on a diagonal line which enables theentire interior of the case to be utilized and renders unnecessary the construction of a case of greater interior dimensions than the overall dimensions of its contents.

Another feature of the invention is the location of the hinge joint inwardly from one end of the case so that upon opening or closing the case, the inner end wall of the article holder will engage the inner face of the top wall of the case and retard its movement so Serial No. 191,599.

specification, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette case constructed in accordance with this invention, 55

Figure 2 is a side View of a cigarette case showing the same in open position,

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the case showing the same in closed position, t

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic view showing the cam action of the inner container against one of the outer case sections,

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the case sections are constructed,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of one of the case sections completed,

Figure 7 is a perspective view of the cooperating case section,

Figure 8 is a plan view of the blank from which the article holder is produced,

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the completed article holder,

Figure 10 is a plan view of the blank of an alternate form of article holder, and

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the article holder produced from the blank shown in Figure 10.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a cigarette case comprises a pair of case sections designated generically A 'and B. The section A constitutes the cover section of the device and comprises a relatively short bottom wall 10 provided at one end with a perpendicular wall 11, the upper end of which is connected to the top wall 12, which lies in a plane parallel with the bottom Wall 10, but extends the full length of the case. Side walls 13 are connected to the lateral edges of the walls 10, 11 and 12, and are formed with diagonal edges 14 extending from the forward edge of the bottom wall 10 to the forward edge of the top wall 12, as will be clearly seen upon reference to the drawings. N

The article holder designated generically C comprises a bottom wall 15 to the opposite ends of which is connected perpendicular end walls 16 and 17, and the lateral edges of the walls 15, 16 and 17 are connected by side walls 18, the upper edges of which are cut away as at 19, to facilitate the removal of the contents of the article holder when the device is in use. l

The case section B above referred to comprises a bottom wall 20, which is of a length lequal to the length of the top wall 12 of the case section A, less that of the bottom Wall 10 of said case section, so thatI when the bottom walls 10 and 20 are in abutting relation, they will equal in length that of the top Wall 12. 'Secured at the outer end of the Wall 2O is a perpendicular end wall 21 which corresponds to the end wall 11 of the case section A and terminates at the outer free end of the wall 12 of the case section A. Side walls 22 connect the lateral edges of the Walls 20 and 21 and their free edges extend diagonally as at 23 to correspond With the diagonal edges 14 of the side walls-13.

The article holder C is of a size to lit within the case members A and B, and one end of said article holder is permanently secured in the case sect-ion B as illustrated, so that the open side of the article holder is pressed toward the top wall 12 of the case member A ywhen the device is assembled. The abutting ends of the walls l0 and 20 are hinged as at 24, so that the parts are retained against accidental displacement and in position to permit the case to be readily opened.

In' use the article holder is filled and is of a size to accommodate cigarettes with their ends presented toward the open side thereof, it being understood that the walls 16 and 17 are of a length substantially equal to the Ilength of the articles. When it is desired to withdraw the articles, the case is opened by rocking the parts about the axis of the hinge 24, and owing to the structure, it will be obvious that a movement of less than 90 degrees will fully expose the open side of the article holder so that any one of the items contained therein may be selected and withdrawn. While lthe hinge 24 is. shown as spaced from the wall 11, it is to be understood I that the distance bet-Ween the hinge and the wall -may be shortened Without departing from the s irit and scope of the invention. Location ol) the hinge beyond certain limits away from the wall, however, will act to shorten the radius of movement, and such shortening is not contemplated as it would tend to reduce the capacity of the article holder in such a way that the full storage capacity of the case would be reduced comparable with its external dimensions. By locating the hinge a relatively short distance from the wall 11, a slight camming action between the end of the wall 16 and the inner side of the wall 12 is produced which will eifectively act to hold the case in closed position and against accidental opening movement. Such action is illustrated in Figure 4, and while it performs a highly desirable function, it is not vto be construed as a limitatlon.

Lacasse In the preferred construction of the device, the case section designated generically A is formed from a blank, such as illustrated 'in Figure 5, and constitutes the substantially 'zoA 12, as will be clearly seen upon reference to Figure 7 As shown the portions of the side walls 13 and the bottom wall 10, which are cut away to provide the diagonal edges 14, form the blank from which the case section B is construct-ed. This blank comprises the bottom wall 20 to the side edges of which are integrally formed with substantially triangular side walls 22. The longitudinal edges of the side walls 22 are formed with flaps, which, when the device is folded. overlap as illustrated in Figure 6 to form the end wall 21 which corresponds to the end wall 11 of the case section A as previously described.

The article holder C is formed from the blank illustrated in Figure -8 which is constituted by the side walls 18 which are .integrally connected at their adjacent ends by the perpendicular end wall 17 and formed at their opposite ends are iiaps, which. when the blank is folded, overlap as shown in Figure 9 to form the end wall 16. Flaps are formed along the lower marginal edge of the side y lwalls which overlap when the blank is folded to form the bottom wall 15, and a portion 25 of the outermost .of said flaps Ais separated from the remainder of the blank by a slit 26 forming a loose unconnected flap portion,

which provides a hinge connection between y the case section A and the article holder C for the. purpose previously described. In the alternate construction of article `holder illustrated .in Figures 10 and 1.1` a

side wall 27 is formed at opposite ends with end walls 28 which in turn are provided with extensions 29 or a length substantially equal to one-half the length of the side wall. 27. so that when the' blank is folded vasillustrated in Figure 11, the extensions 29 form one side wall of the article holder, while the portion 27 constitutes the co-operating side wall.

Flaps 30 are formed along the lower longitudinal edges ofthe side wall 27 and the extensions 29, and these flaps (zo-operate to form the bottom wall of the article holder. -As shown, one of these flaps is separated from its extension by means lof a. slit 31 to form a loose iiap 32 which corresponds with the flap V25 in forming a hinge connection between the article holder and the case section A. The blank illustrated in Figure 10 is also provided at its extreme lopposite ends with iiaps 33,

which, when the blank is folded, lie next toy each other to form a central partition wall within the article holder, it being understood that the-free edges of the flaps 33 are not permanently attached to the side wall 27, thus enabling the partition to move within the article holder so as to facilitate the introduction of the articles thereinto.

While Figures 5 toll illustrate in detail an economical form of construction wherein the hinge joint between the case section A and the article holder C may be readily produced and constitutes a unitary portion of the article holder, it is tobe understood that any other type of hinge connection may be substituted.

One of the advantages of the improved container is that it takes the place of the usual cigarette box of standard size. The improved container is identical in size with the usual boX. The new container permits such substitution. Also, an ordinary package of cigarettes can be inserted in the container, and the shape illustrated in Figure 2 may be changed to the shape of another standard package. The diagonal cut may also extend from corner to corner without in any way departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details and construction, combination and arrangement ot parts, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is 1. A container comprising a complete rectangular case; a rectangular enveloping case formed of a pair of case parts, one of which is transversely hinged near one end at a point removed from the adjacent corner of the enveloping case, the hinged part having a relatively short bottom between said point and said end, said hinged part being separable from the other part on a line extending from the hinge to a point adjacent the corner diagonally opposite that near which the parts are hinged, whereby, when the first rectangular case is completely tilled the hinged part may be opened without injury to the contents. l

2. A container comprising a complete rectangular case forming an article holder, a rectangular enclosing case formed of a pair of case parts, one of which Is transversely hinged near one end' at a point removed from the adjacent corner of the y'enveloping case, the hinged part having a relatively short bottom between said point and said end, said hinged part being separable from the other part on a line extending from the hinge to a point near the corner diagonally opposite that adjacent which the parts are hinged, whereby when the holder is .completely filled, the movable case part may be opened without injury to the contents, the article holder being secured in one of said 'case parts, said article holder having an open side coveredb the eo-operating case part and adapted to liave its open side wholly exposed upon movement of the case parts through an arc of less than 90 degrees.

' 3. A container comprising a complete article holder, a pair of case parts having corners completely enclosing the article holder and hinged together at a point removed fromvany of said corners and separable on a diagonal line, whereby movement of one of the case parts about the axis of the hinge will avoid injuryto the contents of the article holder, one of said case parts having a short bottom between said point and one end.

4. A container comprising a rectangular case having corners and formed of a pair of case parts one of which is transversely hinged near one end at a point removed from any. of said corners and separableon a line extending from the hinge to a point adjacent the diagonal opposite corner, said hinged part having a relatively short bottom be-l tween said point and said end, and a complete article holder enclosed by said case parts and adapted to frictionally engage the inner side of one wall of the one case part during the opening or closing of the case part on its hinge.

5. A container comprising a pair of case parts, one of said parts having a relatively long bottom wall, a perpendicular end wall and substantially triangular side walls connected to the lateral edges of the bottom and end walls, a second case part having a relatively short bottom wall hinged to the end ot the bottom wall of the first mentioned case part, a perpendicular end wall connected to the relatively short bottom wall, a top wall connected to the last mentioned end wall, said top wall being of a length substantially equal to the combined length of the two. bottom walls, side walls connecting the lateral edges of the last mentioned bottom, end and top walls and adapted to abut the edges of the triangular side walls of the first mentioned case part.

6. A container comprising a pair of case parts, one ot said parts having a relatively long bottom wall, a perpendicular end wall and substantially triangular side walls connected to the lateral edges of the bottom and end walls, a second case part having a relatively short bottom wall hinged tothe end of the bottom wall of the first mentioned case part, a perpendicular end wall connected to the relatively short bottom wall, a top wall connected to the last mentioned end wall, said top wall being of a length substantially equal to the combined length l mensen of the two bottom walls, side walls connecting the lateral edges of the last inentioned bottom, end and to walls and adapted to abut the edges of t e triangular side walls of the firstmentioned case part, and an article holder secured in the first inentioned case part.

7. A container comprising a pair of case parts, one of said parts lhaving a relatively long bottom wall, a perpendicular end wall and substantially triangular side walls connected to the lateral edges of the bottom and end walls, a second case part having a relatively short bottom wall hinged to the end of the bottom wall of the rst mentioned case part, a perpendicular end wall connected to the relatively short bottom wall, a top wall connected to the last mentioned end wa l, said top wall being of a length substantially equal to the combined length of the two bottom walls, side walls connecting the lateral edges of the last mentioned bottom, end and top walis and adapted to abut the edges ot the triangular side walls of the first mentioned case part, an article holder secured in the first mentioned case part, said article holder having an end wall adapted' to rictionally enga e the inner side of the top wall` during t e opening and closing movements ot the case to hold the saine closed.

8. A container comprising a cover section, a cooperating cover section, a complete article holder permanently secured within one of the cri-operating cover sections, and loosely enclosed by the other cover section, and a hinge i'dap formed integrally with the article holder and permanently secured to one of the cover sections,

9. An article holder comprising a cover section, a co-operating cover section, a complete article holder permanently secured in one of the (3o-operating cover sections, and loosely enclosed by the other cover section, and a hinge iiap termed inte rally with the bottom wall of the article hol er and permanently attached to the cover section to hold the parts in assembled position, said sections being substantially triangular in shape.

10. A container comprising a cover section, a co-operating cover section, a complete article holder permanently secured within the co-operating cover section, the bottom wall of the article holder comprising a pair of overlapping aps and a loose extension on one of sai iiaps ermanently attached to the first mentioned1p cover sectionto form a hin e joint between the cover sections, said selctions being substantially triangular in s ape.

11. A container comprisin a cover section, a co-operating cover section, said cover sections being adapted to open on a liiieextending from substantially one corner to the diagonally opposite corner of the container, a complete article holder permanently se cured within the co-operating cover section, and a hinge iap formed integrally with the article holder and permanently attached to the first mentioned cover section, said sections being substantially triangular in shape.

l2. A container comprising an article holder, a case enveloping said holder, the casel having two substantially triangular parts so disposed as to give the case substantially the same shape as the holder when said parts envelopl the holder, said parts being hinged together adjacent one corner of the holder the holder being open along one side remote rom said corner.

13. A container comprising an article holder, a case envelopin same, said case having two substantially triangular parts so disposed as to give the case substantially the saine shape as the holder when the parts envelope the latter, said parts being hinged together adjacent one corner of the holder, said parts when enveloping the holder having juxtapositioned edges extending diagonally oi the holder, the latter being opened along a side remote from said corner.

ln testimony that l claim the foregoing as my invention, li have signed my name hereto.

Gl-IARLES LENFANT. 

